The Wonderland Journal

Miles hiked: 23

Mile marker: 1050.1

A groan escapes me as my alarm goes off. 

I’m tired. 

Maybe it will go away. 

But as I throw my pack on, and we begin to push uphill, it doesn’t go away. 

A pile of black rocks is to my right. It’s a mount of coal-colored rock shards. It looks like something exploded and this is the damage!

“This looks like something your dad would climb up to the top,” Rafiki says. 

We hike uphill for a long time. I hike with Luxy and we spend a long time talking about Czech Republic and USA differences for children and educational experiences. 

Luxy and I hike for miles and miles. We stopped once with the group for a short time, but we’re almost ten miles in and we haven’t seen any of them! 

It’s hot today. It’s been hot the past few days. When we were going over the big passes, it was much cooler than this. I feel like I’m having to reacclimate to this strong sun!

“Will they ever stop? We haven’t gone this long without a break in a long time!” Luxy says. 

I agree. 

It’s passed ten miles when we finally find Voyager and the group!

I sit next to Rafiki on a rock. We’re at the top of a hill with a beautiful, rocky and slightly desolate view. I use Rafiki’s phone to call Dad and talk about some logistics of when we get into town. 

I then call Mom. 

“The kids want to FaceTime Bumper!” Mom says. She and my niece and nephew watch Bumper’s vlog on the PCT, so the kids have gotten to see him on YouTube. 

“Oh, he’s right here,” I say. My niece is with my mom, so I beckon Bumper over.

“I don’t want to get up,” Bumper says. 

I don’t want to move either, so I say, “This is your fan club, Bumper. Come speak to your fans.”

“Hi Bumper,” my niece says in her little kid voice. 

“Hi,” Bumper says. 

Pause. 

Rafiki and I laugh at the conversation that falls flat. 

I finally jump in. “Do you want to tell Bumper anything?” I ask my niece. 

“I watch your videos,” she says. “How many miles have you walked?”

“One thousand,” Bumper says. 

My niece whispers in awe, “One thousand!”

I will admit, I’m a little jealous that the niece and nephew are drawn in so much to Bumper more than me. 

I might be making some videos soon. 

We decide to hike another seven miles to lunch. It’s uphill and on a peak. 

Voyager is already here. She needs service because she will be getting off trail soon for a new job opportunity and is getting all of her documents in order. 

The sun is strong, so we rest under a tree. When the wind comes, it cools me down immediately. I’m so exhausted, that after I eat, I lay down on my mat and take a nap. Rafiki gives me his sleeping bag. Before long, I’m drooling on my arm. 

I don’t want to get up, but I do. However, I could have slept longer and Rafiki and Luxy go back to the drawing board to get another hotel room that has a pool! This takes another ten or fifteen minutes. 

There is service up here, and they are capitalizing on it. 

Six miles to camp!

I push forward. I’m still not feeling well. I’ve been a little nauseous today. It may have been the packed out steak and rice last night, or maybe all the heavy food I ate yesterday and today. Or my new Hawaiian Punch drink powder that I got at trail magic. Not sure what, but I’m dragging today. 

Down the hill, we run into Legend again. This is the man we met at trail magic the other day. 

He is waiting for his wife. She appears and Legend says, “If she asks, tell her I’ve been here a long time!” He walks to his wife. “Hey, honey!” He gives her a big hug and offers to take her bag. 

She’s slack packing, which means that she carries a small day pack and not a big pack. Her husband drives to her and she sleeps in their camper van every night. Legend said that his wife likes backpacking but not sleeping in the tent!

We hike the rest of the way down. As we put the tent up, the stakes aren’t going into the ground. The wind is whipping around, but I manage to get my tent up. We’re basically camping on bedrock. 

But I don’t care. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.